Brillante Ma Mendoza weighs in on MTRCB censorship of streaming platforms

Brillante Ma Mendoza (right) with Judy Ann Santos on the set of “Mindanao”

“Censorship connotes suppression of expression,” director Brillante Ma Mendoza asserted in a statement that he released to Inquirer Entertainment on Wednesday night.

The Cannes-winning filmmaker is weighing in on the issue of censorship by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), particularly where streaming platforms are concerned.

“Artists and industry people who became lawmakers should do something to protect the very industry that helped put them in that position, not use that power to control it,” he pointed out further.

Mendoza is currently in Japan to shoot the winter scenes of his latest film “Chameleon”—about the true story of a Filipino transgender woman who’s drawn to the Japanese underworld after she crosses paths with a Yakuza boss’ daughter—till March 10.

But the acclaimed filmmaker, who has won coveted awards in Cannes (“Kinatay,” “Taklub”), Berlin (“Tirador”) and Venice (“Thy Womb”) festivals, has kept himself abreast of the controversial issues back home.

After the controversy surrounding the Gerard Butler starrer “Plane” reached the Senate last week, Mendoza has decided to share his thoughts on censorship of films that are on streaming platforms. We’re printing Mendoza’s statement in its entirety below:

We have laws, and those in the film industry respect them and comply. There will reportedly be a Senate discussion regarding MTRCB having jurisdiction over films on Philippine streaming platforms.

As an artist, I say that I am not in favor of the MTRCB being permitted to control, censor and classify our works on these platforms. Censorship already connotes suppression of expression—in a democratic country.

Certainly, there is clamor from various groups to limit and ban scenes and films that may be offensive to them. But in my point of view, if these will be imposed, people will only stop watching local films on Philippine streaming platforms and shift to different platforms, foreign or illegal.

I think the issue being brought to the Senate will have a negative impact on many artists. There are only a limited number of producers who are willing to fund creative pursuits—earning through films is already difficult, and the recent Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is enough proof that most viewers still have not returned to the theaters.

In fact, many Filipinos have shifted to streaming. For decades, we must admit that very few laws have been created that have benefited artists. Now that the internet has given a new avenue for creative works, some people still want to control and interfere with that.

I say, too, that artists and industry people who became lawmakers should do something to protect the very industry that helped put them in that position, not use that power to control it.

We bow to the laws, yes, but we wish that more energy had been spent on creating laws that benefit artists, instead of taking action that seems to prioritize suppressing and censoring our works.